A daily dose of market updates to guide your investment decisions.
July 10, 2026
Chart of the Day
The US trade deficit widened to its largest level since March 2025 as businesses accelerated imports in anticipation of possible new tariffs, while exports weakened. In May, imports increased by 3.3%, driven by stronger demand for consumer goods, semiconductors, computer accessories, and vehicles. Meanwhile, exports fell 3.2%, marking the first decline in five months due largely to lower nonmonetary gold shipments. Source: Bloomberg
Financial market updates
The USD/PHP exchange rate opened 11.5 centavos higher at 61.62 on Thursday amid souring risk sentiment after US President Donald Trump stated that the ceasefire with Iran might be over.
The local pair initially rose to 61.64 but later fell to 61.53 as broad dollar weakness and reports of Iran seeking a peace deal boosted the peso.
Market flows remained balanced between remittance inflows and importer demand, although overall trading volumes remained light.
The USD/PHP pair ultimately closed at 61.605, or 10 centavos higher day-on-day.
The current support levels of USD/PHP remain at 61.15/40, while the resistance levels are 61.75/62.00.
The local GS space saw a sharp selloff Thursday morning as geopolitical tensions re-ignited in the Middle East, leading to higher oil prices. Both local and offshore players aggressively de-risked positions in the belly and back-end of the curve.
The barrage of selling eventually faded mid-session, with dip-buyers emerging as participants sought to take advantage of elevated yields. Overall, yields gapped 10-35 basis points (bps) higher day-on-day.
Local PHP yields are expected to remain vulnerable to movements in oil prices and developments in the Strait of Hormuz, given the country's heavy reliance on Middle Eastern imports.
We recommend a defensive approach. Stay nimble with front-end positions, though clients may start to scale in at these higher yields. The belly remains attractive, trading around 30 bps higher than comparable 3Y, and just 20 bps less than 10Y bonds.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) ended 51.90 points lower at 6,223.87 on Thursday, as investors turned cautious amid renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
The rise in global oil prices and the resulting weakness in the peso reinforced the risk-off mood, prompting broad-based profit-taking that lifted value turnover to PHP 5.91 billion.
Despite the softer close, foreign investors remained firm buyers, posting a healthy net inflow of PHP 799.31 million.
Heavyweights bore the brunt of the selling, led by Ayala Corp. (-3.51%), Universal Robina Corp. (-3.44%), and JG Summit Holdings Inc. (-3.29%).
Meanwhile, International Container Terminal Services Inc. (+2.26%), Converge Information & Communications Technology Solutions Inc. (+1.08%), and Semirara Mining & Power Corp. (+0.69%) provided some resilience.
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